Holy places

After Hebrews 9:1-28 

There were holy places

served by priests and

a most holy place served

by the high priest, only

once a year, after 

a sacrifice was made,

only then, a sacrifice

offered for the people

and himself. Those

holy places, that most

holy place, were only 

copies, facsimiles

of the heavenly places.

One set of holy places

was made by man;

the other set is

the originals, heavenly,

perfect. The sacrifice

for the heavenly places

has been made, blood

sprinkled, people

cleansed and saved. All

other sacrifices are

now obsolete.

 

Photograph: the tower at Canterbury Cathedral.

Some Sunday Readings

 

Triptych of a Cynic – poem by Tyler Rogness at Rabbit Room Poetry.

 

Pursuing the Presence of God – Matthew Hosier at Think Theology.

 

Leading with Hope During Challenging Times – Dr. Andrew Spencer at the Institute for Faith, Work, & Economics.

 

The judgement of getting exactly what we want – Stephen Kneale at Building Jerusalem. 

 

Grace Has Taught Our Hearts to Fear – Greg Morse at Desiring God.

 

Stay in My Heart – Valerie Stivers at First Things Magazine on Kristin Lavransdatter bvy Sigrid Undset.

It wasn't the law

After Hebrews 7:11-28 

It was set early on:

the priests were of the tribes

Levitical, named after Levi,

Jacob’s son. If this had been

sufficient, if the law has been

sufficient, if perfection could

have been attained through

this priesthood, nothing else

would have been needed. But

the priests were men, types

signifying who the real priest

was, indicating the priest

to come, the priest after

the order of Melchizedek.

This was the king who was,

is, a priest, the priest there 

from the beginning,

Only this priest alone was, 

is, sufficient.

 

Photograph by Elimende Inagella via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Some Sunday Readings

 

Non-Boring Poetry Books (for Children) to Make You Love Poetry – Erica at What Do We Do all Day.

 

Andy Crouch: In a Time of Culture Collapse, Build Friendships – Trevin Wax at The Gospel Coalition.

 

The Mystery of Father-Son Relationships – Benjamin Myers at Plough Quarterly reviews An Ordinary Life: Poems by B.H. Fairchild. 

 

Whatever Comes, Get Wisdom: AI, the Future, and Our Chief End – Owen Anderson at Christ Over All.

 

What About Abortion in the Case of Rape? – Jonathan Noyes at Stand to Reason.

Working priests

After Nehemiah 3:1-32 and Ephesians 2:12-14

Instead of seeing them

in temple or in worship,

I see priests stacking

bricks, carrying stones,

mixing mortar to bind

bricks and stones

together, hands calloused

and dirty, faces of dust

rivered by sweat. I see them

build this wall and perform

an act of worship, the same

as the invisible wall built

with sacrifice, constructed

with redemption. 

Image via Bible Encyclopedia.